‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM DECEMBER 2016 QST  PAGE 44‰
ENTER A DMR UNIQUE ID, AND THIS WILL GIVE YOU ACCESS TO ALL THE REFLECTORS
ON ALL MODES.  SO, IN ORDER TO USE THE DV4MINI, YOU MUST OBTAIN A DMR MARC
DIGITAL ID, WHICH IS COORDINATED WORLDWIDE, EVEN IF YOUR INTENTION IS TO
USE THE DV4MINI EXCLUSIVELY IN A MODE OTHER THAN DMR.  THIS REGISTRATION
PROCESS IS FREE, AND THE DMR MARC TEAM IS VERY QUICK TO RESPOND.  FOR
DETAILS, SEE DMR MARC. NET.  YOU ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED
TO THE D STAR TRUST SERVER IN ORDER TO U

CONNECT DIRECTLY WITH THE YAESU WIRES X DIGITAL NETWORK THROUGH A SYSTEM
FUSION REPEATER, OR A WIRES X DIGITAL NODE.  HOWEVER, LIKE ALL TRANSCEIVERS
WITH ANALOG FM CAPABILITY, YOU CAN USE THE FTM 3200DR TO ACCESS THE NETWORK
THROUGH AN ANALOG WIRES X NODE.  EXTENDED RECEIVE ID BE REMISS IF I DIDNT
MENTION THE FTM 3200DRS EXTENDED RECEIVE CAPABILITIES.  THE RECEIVE
FREQUENCY RANGE EXTENDS TO 174 MHZ, AND I DISCOVERED THAT THERE ARE A
NUMBER OF SERVICES THAT CONTINUE TO USE THAT SLICE OF SPECTRUM.  IN MY AREA
OF THE COUNTRY, I WAS ABLE TO MONITOR LOCAL FIRE DISPATCH AND EVEN RAILROAD
COMMUNICATIONS, SUCH AS AMTRAK.  THE EXTENDED FREQUENCY RANGE INCLUDES NOAA
WEATHER RADIO CHANNELS, AND THE FTM 3200DR COMES WITH ALL 10 CHANNELS
PREPROGRAMMED IN MEMORY.  TO STEP THROUGH THE CHANNELS, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO
IS PRESS THE P4 BUTTON ON THE MICROPHONE.  IF A STATION TRANSMITS A SEVERE
WEATHER ALERT, THE TRANSCEIVER IS CAPABLE OF AUTOMATICALLY DECODING THE
ALERT TONE AND SWITCHING TO THE ACTIVE CHANNEL.  THERE IS ALSO A MENU
SETTING THAT AUTOMATICALLY INCREASES THE AUDIO LEVEL OF AN ALERT, MAKING IT
LOUDER TO GET YOUR ATTENTION.  THE ALERT FUNCTION IS SET TO OFF BY DEFAULT,

AUDIO REPORTS.  AT ONE POINT, I FOUND MYSELF ON A 600 FOOT HIGH RIDGE AND
COULDNT RESIST REACHING OUT WITH 65 W.  FROM CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, I WAS
ABLE TO HIT REPEATER SYSTEMS FROM RHODE ISLAND TO LONG ISLAND AND HEAR THEM
QUITE WELL.  I WAS IMPRESSED.  THERE ARE ONLY A FEW SYSTEM FUSION REPEATERS
IN CONNECTICUT, SO I RETURNED TO THE RIDGE ANOTHER DAY TO TRY C4FM WITH THE
EXTENDED RANGE THE RIDGE PROVIDED.  I HAD TO MAKE A FEW CALLS, BUT I
EVENTUALLY RAISED A FELLOW WHO WAS OPERATING WITH A YAESU SYSTEM FUSION
HANDHELD.  HIS AUDIO WAS REMARKABLY CLEAR WITH FEW DROP OUTS HE WAS
OPERATING FROM A MOVING CAR.  AT MY SUGGESTION, HE SWITCHED TO ANALOG FM
AND, SURE ENOUGH, THE REPEATER AND MY FTM 3200DR DETECTED THE CHANGE AND
SWITCHED MODES AUTOMATICALLY.  THE FTM 3200DR OFFERS A FUNCTION CALLED
GROUP MONITOR THAT ADDS AN EXTRA DIMENSION TO DIGITAL OPERATING.  WHEN THE
GROUP MONITOR FUNCTION IS ON AND YOURE OPERATING IN DIGITAL MODE AS A
MEMBER OF A REGISTERED GROUP, THE TRANSCEIVER WILL SEND SHORT PINGS AT
REGULAR INTERVALS.  THIS MAKES YOU VISIBLE TO OTHER FUSION GROUP MEMBERS
WHO ARE WITHIN COMMUNICATION RANGE, AND VICE VERSA.  WHEN A STATION IS
WITHIN RANGE, YOULL SEE THE CALL SIGN AND HEAR AN ALERT CHIME.  TO GET THE
MOST OUT OF GROUP MONITOR, IT DOES HELP TO DOWNLOAD THE ADVANCED ONLINE
MANUAL.  IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT THE FTM 3200DR LACKS THE ABILITY TO
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ